Waxed Paper...Who Knew It Could Be So Much Fun?

It's funny how some things lodge in your brain, percolate for a while, and then are ready to be used.  Somewhere in the many topics that I read through, someone mentioned a waxed paper resist technique.  I remember that it combined embossing folders, stamping, ironing (yes, with a real iron) and sponging colours onto the cardstock.  Today was a miserable, grey, rainy day.  What better time, I thought, to try out something new just for fun?

I decided to use the Whisper White cardstock since it is so nice and glossy and takes a stamped image beautifully.  On that I used Basic Black ink to stamp the grass from the "Inspired By Nature" stamp set as well as a butterfly from the Hostess set "Precious Butterflies".  I let that dry while I went to work on a piece of waxed paper cut slightly larger than an embossing folder.  I finally decided to use the Elegant Bouquet folder twice, that is I embossed the waxed paper once and then turned the paper so that I could emboss the other, empty, half since the folder actually just embosses half the paper along a diagonal.

Then I carefully placed the waxed paper on top of the stamped Whisper White cardstock, placed a scot towel on top of that, and ironed it until I was pretty sure the wax had been transferred to the cardstock.  I remembered my safety rule and unplugged the iron and then proceeded to use a sponge to colour the stamped cardstock.  This part will remind most people of the emboss-resist technique.

My choice was to make the image seem to be silhouetted against a sunrise.  I sponged So Saffron over about 3/4 of the cardstock, leaving the top 1/4 free of colour.  Then I proceeded to blend in some Calypso Coral and, at the bottom 1/4, added in some Primrose Petals to deepen the colour.  With another sponge I used the Marina Mist lightly across the untouched top 1/4.  I love the way everything blended together so nicely.

Then, with a dry, clean sponge, I went carefully over the entire image to get rid of any residual ink...that really brought out the details of the Elegant Bouquet embossing folder.

I used Basic Gray cardstock for my card's base colour and then added a layer of Basic Black to frame the stamped cardstock.  I love the way the Basic Black makes the silhouette "pop".

This was so much fun to do.  I can think of a dozen other cards I want to make this way.  You should try it, too.